Email of the day (2)
Comment of the Day

April 26 2011

Commentary by David Fuller

Email of the day (2)

On a great quote:
"I found the following in today's free email newsletter, Cabot Wealth Advisory, and I thought it poignant:


On this very day in 1931, for example, Coolidge [Calvin Coolidge, U.S. President, 1923-29] wrote:

"Contemporary opinion is usually too critical and misdirected. In the perspective of history many of our present seeming imperfections will disappear and the qualities of our society and government will be more apparent. Before becoming entirely discouraged and hastily deciding everything has so deteriorated that confidence is no longer warranted, it would be well to read some former opinions. Discouraging conclusions are not new. They have continually been expressed even by the able and the thoughtful from the foundation of our republic. As judicially minded a man as Chancellor Kent wrote in 1845, 'I think we have at Washington the meanest man, malignant, party hacks and tools that ever were doomed to curse a republic.' Yet the country not only survived, but the government of that day is now conceded to have included some of our most brilliant statesmen.

"Sometimes the whole body of the Congress falls into disfavor because of the actions of a few members. The blame lies with the voters who elect undesirable persons. When elected, other members have to work with them.

"This republic has a good government. The future undoubtedly will judge this period as a time when the country met its difficulties remarkably well."

"Coolidge's philosophy is aptly summarized in his famous remark during a 1925 address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors: "After all, the chief business of the American people is business." And despite today's political turmoil and the recent recession, businesses are in good shape.

"I'm registered to attend the Fraser Management CONTRARY OPINION FORUM. I'm excited about my attendance and I look forward to seeing/hearing you there."

David Fuller's view It is a splendid quote and I hope that Calvin Coolidge's concluding sentence will prove as apt in this century.

I maintain that the USA's problems are self-inflicted. That is certainly a wake-up call but it also means that American's can resolve their own problems.

US multinational companies are mostly in very good shape, as you point out and we have often commented. They remain a Fullermoney secular theme. There is also the real possibility of energy independence for the USA within 12 to 15 years, as Fullermoney has forecast. Needless to say, that would be transformative.

Meanwhile, how does the USA address its economic problems and what choices need to be made? To answer this, leaders and decision makers have to understand the current financial situation more fully so that sensible choices can be made.

This KPCB presentation - USA Inc. - is both detailed and highly informative. I have not yet read all the way through it - there are 468 slides - but I have seen enough to commend it to you.

I am delighted that you will also be attending the Contrary Opinion Forum in October.

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